With the Emperor and Empress unable to visit regional areas for more than 2½ years due to the pandemic, the Imperial Household Agency is closely monitoring various events, including J-League soccer matches, to help devise measures to prevent infection and allow the couple to resume their trips.
Regional visits by the Imperial couple and sporting events often involve similar conditions — people are densely packed together and there is a great deal of cheering.
Concerns over infection
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The agency considered having the Imperial couple go to Shiga Prefecture for the National Tree Planting Festival in June, but gave up the idea because of concerns that the visit would lead to the spread of infections in the area.
The agency is not worried about the risk of infection for the Emperor and Empress, as they can ensure a certain distance between them and the people they meet. The concern is about the coronavirus possibly spreading among people who gather at train stations and along the streets to welcome the Imperial couple.
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The next opportunities for a possible regional visit by the Emperor and Empress are Tochigi Prefecture in early October, where an event for the National Sports Festival will be held, and Okinawa Prefecture in late October to attend the National Cultural Festival.
An on-site survey will be conducted in August, two months prior to the events, and the agency and prefectural governments are closely monitoring the infection situation and making adjustments.
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The duties of a symbol
The agency’s positive attitude toward resuming the Imperial couple’s regional visits stems only partly from the government policy of balancing infection control measures and socioeconomic activities. It is also based on the Emperor’s belief that it is important for the Emperor and Empress to be in direct contact with the public, to fulfill their duty as symbols of the state to “share the sufferings and joys of the people.”
During the years of the pandemic, the Emperor and Empress have interacted online with people in various regions.
While online communication has the advantage of enabling contact with people in mountainous areas and remote islands that are difficult to reach, the number of people who can participate is limited and the depth of the interaction is not as great as that of in-person communication.
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Other members of the Imperial family have resumed overnight visits to regional areas since this spring.
Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko visited Mie, Nara and Kyoto prefectures when they visited Ise Shrine in April. Since then, they have also attended events in Gifu, Tochigi, and Hiroshima prefectures.
The agency has avoided having them use terminal stations with many passengers so that people do not crowd together, and has conducted PCR tests on accompanying staff members.
Princess Nobuko and Princess Akiko of Mikasa have visited Fukuoka Prefecture and Hokkaido to attend events.
On July 27th, Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako received Indonesian President Joko Widodo and his wife Iriana Joko Widodo at the Imperial residence for a 30-minute audience around 4pm.
